Seneca Lake Research Paper

Introduction: The eleven Finger Lakes were created from ancient rivers that originated from Canada that flowed across the western part of New York. A wide chain of comparatively fragile rocks lay east and west where the Ontario and Mohawk valleys are now. The tributaries from Canada “cut down faster and captured, or ‘beheaded,’ the rocks” because they were much more fragile. This erosion developed the depressions that initiated the Ontario and Mohawk valleys (Fairchild, 165). When the last glacier retreated approximately around 10,000 years ago, it left debris, which blocked the southwestward flow of these rivers. With nowhere for the water to go, the water from the glaciers occupied the depressions creating the Finger Lakes (fingerlakesmuseum,
2012). Of the 11 finger lakes Seneca Lake is the deepest and widest, reaching depths of 618 feet making it the second deepest lake in the state.
Seneca lake has only frozen over only 9 recorded times and provides an optimal habitat for Lake Trout making it an ideal spot for fishing.Seneca’s water temperature stays reasonably constant throughout the seasons. This creates a microclimate of cool, stable air making Seneca and the surrounding area land perfect for agriculture (Conheady, 1).
Since then the region has stayed basically the same as we see it today.
The rock surface under the lake is buried deeply. Geophysical studies in both Watkins Glen and Geneva show that a wide mass of glacial deposits fills the rock valley which forms Seneca Lake. There are as much as 150-200 meters in each basin of glacial-lake sediments. This entire mass was in place by 12,000 years ago. At the same time, deltas have been built at several different locations along the shore and a large amount of stream deposits have been poured in to form both the alluvial fans (Halfman, 5).
One of Seneca’s most notable resources is salt, despite being a freshwater lake. Salt deposits lay embedded thousands of feet underneath the bedrock of the lake. This deposit is so enormous it stretches from Albany to parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Southern Canada, and all of Michigan (Conheady,
1).
Seneca Lake deep relatively clear waters also have made it an ideal place for the United States military to test their deep sea equipment. In 1942 the United Sates Navy on the eastern shore of Seneca lake constructed a 2,600 acre Sampson Naval Training Base, more than then 400,000 Navy personnel trained at this base in WWII. For the Korean War the base was transformed into an Air Force base and was used to train over 300,000 personnel. Today, Seneca is the largest State Park in the Finger Lakes region, housing a museum dedicated to its military history. All of the Finger Lakes especially Seneca are endangered by a number of environmental threats. This includes non-point source agricultural pollutants, shoreline development, increasing recreational use, and invasive species like the spiny water flea, zebra and quagga mussel and Eurasian watermilfoil. The expanding agriculture such as vineyards and animal farming along the coast may potentially affect the lake’s water quality. By periodically monitoring of the physical, biological and chemical characteristics of the lake we are able to spot trends of change (Halfman, B,6). Seneca lake’s rich geological history and economic and military value makes it a very important natural resource as well as a historical landmark to both New york and Ohio.
To increase are understanding of Seneca Lake’s biotic and abiotic characteristics we studied the plankton composition, water chemistry, the temperature to depth relationship, and the sediment piston core of the lake.

Methods:
Plankton:
First we boarded the William Scandling, which is a 65-foot steel hulled research vessel. It uses a 200-horse power GM diesel that drives the single screw as well a generator to provide electrical power. We then took two samples of water using an 83 micron mesh size plankton net. The first sample we took was in shallow edge of the lake and the second sample was taken in the center where the water is deeper. We then took 10 drops of sample recorded the number of different species on a slide under a microscope.
Water Samples:
We gathered and analyzed water samples from different depths from different depths. This was recorded by using a system of bottles attached to a winch. A stopper at each of end of the bottles are pulled back and attached to a closing mechanism. The cable was lowered to the proper depth then a messenger was sent down the cable to trigger the closing mechanism and the enclosed sample then was returned to the surface.
Sediment Piston
Core:
We sampled two layers of sediment from the lake core by using a sediment piston core. We took samples at two different locations, the shallower edge of the lake and the deeper center. We then extruded the sediment on deck then recorded qualitative data about the appearance of the layers, and took measurements of the layering. We also applied hydrochloric acid to the layers. This allows us to find out how long plankton have been present in the lake. This method works because due to carbon-14 dating we know that black and gray sediments are as much as 6 meters thick are as old as 12,000 years so their for the average sediment rate must be: 600 millimeters/12000 years = 0.5mm/year. And because plankton shells react with calcium carbonate it allows us to deduct oh long plankton where present in the lake.
C.T.D. and Sediment Dredge:
We used the Seabird C.T.D. to find out the conductivity, temperature, and depth and used a sediment dredge to retrieve. The C.T.D. was deployed in the middle of the lake and the sediment dredge was deployed in the shallower edge of the lake to collect zebra muscles and/or quagga mussels we then measured their size.